In an attempt to downplay the scope of the communist infilitration into our government in the 1950's and the true role Joseph McCarthy played during the era of so-called "McCarthyism", George Clooney stated on the Early Show that: "Yes, there were communists infiltrating some areas of government. Not many, a couple of guys" in promoting his new movie.
A couple of guys? As I pointed out in my most recent column, there were more than just "a couple" of Soviet spies in various levels of our government and society. (See the end of this posting for a brief list).
But CBS wouldn't challenge this claim of downplaying McCarthy against famed CBS reporter Edward Murrow. After all, as they note: Clooney's "latest project falls firmly into the latter category and is very close to Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith and those working at CBS News." Why would CBS challenge anything positive that is said about one of its own reporters?
Certainly they wouldn't. As I pointed out last week, CBS also had no problem in promoting another author (and yes, a CBS correspondent no less) who wrote a book bashing blogs, the new media, and dispelling the "Media Bias" myth. It's seems that CBS is all too caught up in publicizing project after project that makes them or their former reporters look like the true heroes of their age, fighting the good fight, and stopping the bad guys (Republicans).
CBS also describes Murrow as a "victim" forced to fight back: "For his stand, Murrow was accused of being a communist sympathizer. But after a meeting with the CBS boss William Paley (Frank Langella), Murrow decides to fight fire with fire and report on what he believes are all the inadequacies and lies perpetrated by the McCarthy hearings."
A brief list of the Soviet Spies who had infilitrated various positions in government. You know, just a couple of guys. No big deal: Jon Abt - Department of Justice, assistant to US Attorney General; Solomon Adler - Treasury Dept; Thomas Babin - OSS; Joel Barr - Army Signal Corps; Marion Berdecio - Naval Intel. and State Department; Joseph Bernstein - Board of Economic Warfare; Thomas Black - Department of Commerce; Norman Bursler - Justice Department; Frank Coe - Treasury; Judith Coplon - Justice Department; Byron Darling - Development and Research; Samuel Dickstein - Democratic Congressman; Laurence Duggan - State Department; Demetrius Dvoichenko-Markov - US Army; Jack Fahy - Economic Warfare/Interior Dept.; Linn Farish - OSS; Edward Fitzgerald - War Production Board; Jane Foster - OSS/Economic Warfare; Harold Glasser - Treasury; Bela Gold - Dept of Agriculture and senate subcomittee on War mobilization; Sonia Gold - Treasury; Maurice Halperin - OSS and State Department; Alger Hiss - State Department; Donald Hiss - State Department; Julius Joseph - Federal Security Agency; Helen Keenan - OSS; Kristina Krotkova - Office of War Information; James Miller - Post Office, Office of Censorship; Robert Minor - OSS; William Pearl - NACA at Langley Army Base; Julius Rosenberg - Army Signal Corps; John Scott - OSS; Helen Tenney - OSS; Lud Ullman - UN Delegate; George Vuchinich - US Army/OSS; Enoc Wicher - Division of War Research; Flora Wovschin - Office of War Information/State Department; Ilya Wolston - Army Military Intelligence; Daniel Zarat - US Army Explosives division.
This is just a brief mention of the hundreds of known Soviet Spies. And that didn't even get into the non-official-government related spies such as Hollywood screenwriters, party activists, and various journalists (and yes, even a CBS journalist).
Just "A Couple" of Spies Clooney and CBS?
Previously: Tim Graham notes Clooney's appearance on NBC.
